^x“Learn not the way of the nations,

nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

because the nations are dismayed at them,

3  for the customs of the peoples are vanity.¹

A tree from the forest is cut down

and worked with an axe by the hands of a ^ycraftsman.

4  They decorate it with silver and gold;

they fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

5  Their idols² are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and ^zthey cannot speak;

^athey have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

for ^bthey cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

6  There is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

7  ^cWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For this is your due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like you.

8  They are both stupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

9  Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

and gold from Uphaz.

They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

they are all the work of skilled men.

10  But the Lord is the true God;

he is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth ^dquakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

12  ^eIt is he who made the earth by his power,

who established the world ^fby his wisdom,

and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13  When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

and ^ghe makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning for the rain,

and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

14  Every man is stupid and without knowledge;

every goldsmith is ^hput to shame by his idols,

for his images are false,

and ⁱthere is no breath in them.

15  They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16  Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

and Israel is the ^jtribe of his inheritance;

^kthe Lord of hosts is his name.

17  Gather up your bundle from the ground,

O you who dwell under siege!

18  For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

at this time,

and I will bring distress on them,

that they may feel it.”

19  Woe is me because of my hurt!

^lMy wound is grievous.

But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,

and I must bear it.”

20  ^mMy tent is destroyed,

and all my cords are broken;

my children have gone from me,

and ⁿthey are not;

there is no one to spread my tent again

and to set up my curtains.

21  For the ^oshepherds are stupid

and do not inquire of the Lord;

therefore they have not prospered,

and all their flock is scattered.

22  A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—

a great commotion out of the ^pnorth country

to make the cities of Judah a desolation,

a lair of ^qjackals.

23  I know, O Lord, that ^rthe way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

24  ^sCorrect me, O Lord, but in justice;

not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

25  ^tPour out your wrath ^uon the nations that know you not,

and on the peoples that call not on your name,

^vfor they have devoured Jacob;

they have devoured him and consumed him,

and have laid waste his habitation.

18  The Lord made it known to me and I knew;

then you showed me their deeds.

19  But I was ⁱlike a gentle lamb

led to the slaughter.

I did not know it was ^jagainst me

they devised schemes, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

let us ^kcut him off from the land of the living,

that his name be remembered no more.”

20  But, ^lO Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,

who ^mtests the heart and the mind,

let me see your ⁿvengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

12  Righteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

^qWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

2  You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

you are ^rnear in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3  But ^syou, O Lord, know me;

you see me, and test my heart toward you.

Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for the day of slaughter.

4  How long will the land ^tmourn

and the grass of every field wither?

For the evil of those who dwell in it

the beasts and the ^ubirds are swept away,

because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

5  “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you are so trusting,

what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

6  For even your brothers and the house of your father,

even they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

do not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.”

7  “I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned my heritage;

I have given the beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8  My heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me;

therefore I hate her.

9  Is my heritage to me like a hyena’s lair?

Are the birds of prey against her all around?

Go, assemble all the wild beasts;

^vbring them to devour.

10  Many ^wshepherds have destroyed my ^xvineyard;

they have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11  They have made it a desolation;

desolate, it mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

but ^yno man lays it to heart.

12  Upon all the bare heights in the desert

destroyers have come,

for the sword of the Lord devours

from one end of the land to the other;

no flesh has peace.

13  They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their¹ harvests

because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

15  Hear and give ear; be not proud,

for the Lord has spoken.

16  Give glory to the Lord your God

before he brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the twilight mountains,

and while you ^glook for light

he turns it into gloom

and makes it deep darkness.

17  But if you will not listen,

my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with ^htears,

because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

18  Say to the king and the ⁱqueen mother:

“Take a lowly seat,

for your beautiful crown

has come down from your head.”

19  The cities of the Negeb are shut up,

with none to open them;

all Judah is taken into exile,

wholly taken into exile.

20  “Lift up your eyes and see

those who come from the ^jnorth.

Where is the flock that was given you,

your beautiful flock?

21  What will you say when they set as head over you

those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?

Will not pangs take hold of you

like those of a woman in labor?

22  And if you say in your heart,

^k‘Why have these things come upon me?’

it is for the greatness of your iniquity

that ^lyour skirts are lifted up

and you suffer violence.

23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin

or the leopard his spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

24  I will scatter you¹ like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

25  This is your lot,

the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,

because you have ^mforgotten me

and trusted in lies.

26  I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

and your shame will be seen.

27  I have seen your abominations,

your adulteries and ⁿneighings, your lewd whorings,

on the hills in the field.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

How long will it be before you are made clean?”

2  “Judah mourns,

and her gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3  Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are ashamed and confounded

and cover their heads.

4  Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is no rain on the land,

^othe farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5  Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6  The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

7  “Though our iniquities ^ptestify against us,

act, O Lord, ^qfor your name’s sake;

for our backslidings are many;

we have sinned against you.

8  O you ^rhope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

9  Why should you be like a man confused,

like a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet you, O Lord, are ^sin the midst of us,

and we are ^tcalled by your name;

do not leave us.”

10  Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

therefore ^uthe Lord does not accept them;

now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

17  “You shall say to them this word:

‘Let my eyes run down with ^dtears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

with a very grievous blow.

18  If I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

And if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19  ^eHave you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

so that there is no healing for us?

^fWe looked for peace, but no good came;

for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20  We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

^gand the iniquity of our fathers,

for we have sinned against you.

21  Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

^hremember and do not break your covenant with us.

22  Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

for you do all these things.